Manny Pacquiao Vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. Fight Would Still Be Months Away
Manny Pacquiao barely took time to savor his win over Timothy Bradley before he started to think of another big opponent — Floyd Mayweather Jr.
For years, Pacquiao and Mayweather have danced circles around the idea of fighting, talking about a bout and even going through the motions but never following through.
Now it appears the fighters are closer than ever to what boxing insiders say could be a record-breaking bout, though it won’t come as soon as some fans would hope.
After Manny Pacquiao won a unanimous decision in his rematch with Timothy Bradley, his camp wasted no time in calling out Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The trio of Pacquiao, his trainer Freddie Roach and promoter Bob Arum said they are primed and ready to fight Mayweather whenever he’s up for it.
“We’d love to fight Mayweather but there have been so many excuses. He really doesn’t seem to want to fight us, but we want that fight. I think my guy beats him,” Roach told the The Daily Telegraph.
Arum was even more combative in calling out Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“We want it,” he roared. “But first Floyd has to sign the fri**ing contract. We can’t do the fight until he agrees.”
If there is a Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight in the future, it would likely take a while. It’s likely that Pacquiao would fight Juan Manuel Marquez later this year, and if he wins it could set up what would be the fight of the century.
Pacquiao certainly hasn’t seemed to have lost a step. Despite the controversial split decision loss to Bradley in their first bout, Manny withstood Bradley’s early flourish in their rematch on Saturday to win handily.
“Big shots were the only way I was going to win the fight,” Bradley admitted. “If I didn’t knock him out I was going to lose rounds. I hear I hurt him with a big shot over the top in the fourth round. But he’s really experienced in the ring, I didn’t really notice it. I heard my corner shouting he was hurt.”
Boxing insiders say a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. would be very lucrative, with both fighters commanding $50 million each.
